Have you ever wondered if you are being overcharged for your R129 SL labor costs? If so, please provide me with the the vehicle-model year, shop's 'labor rate' per hour, plus what needs to be done to the car and I am willing to try and find out for you. I have a copy of the official Mitchell1MECHANICAL LABOR ESTIMATING GUIDE. For those of you un-familier, this is standard guideline that is commonly used by Automotive shops and Dealers to price out labor quotes and estimates for customers. This set was used for my own Automotive Facility back in the days and I remember paying a few hundred dollars for the whole 2002 EDITION set.
1973-2002 Imported Vehicles

I also find alldata's website is pretty good too, I bought a one-year subscription back when I was arguing over something or another with the dealer, and I find that it has enough info for most of my needs. It's not as complete as Mitchell, though, and the next time I need something I will most definitely be giving you a shout.

I have a 2001 SL500 with 49,000 on it. During my annual Pa. state inspection the dealer found oil on the differential at the real cover seal area. They are recommending that I change the dif. seals at a cost of $1100.oo. Is this a common problem? Thanks.